Introducing The LG G5 – The Most Innovative Phone You’ve Seen

Our mates at Trusted Reviews have been getting really excited about two new phone launches. Here they tell us why the LG G5 is a pretty good piece of kit

Two huge phones were announced on Sunday within hours of each other. Samsung’s Galaxy S7 brought back some great features like a microSD slot for extra music storage and water-resistance. It’s bigger brother the S7 Edge is also damn pretty.

LG has gone down a different route with the LG G5. This is a phone that can be transformed to fit your passion. Is perfect music reproduction key, or does a slick compact-camera do it for you?

1) It has a modular design

The LG G5 is the first major modular phone. That means you can take the bottom off, take the battery out, and slot in other modules that add all sorts of clever features to it. This phone can be exactly what you want it to be – sort of.

2) Two modules have been announced

The LG Cam Plus and the LG Hi-Fi Plus are the first modules that work with the G5, but more are in the works.

The Cam Plus adds dedicated video and shutter buttons as well as a zoom wheel and an extra battery for staying-power. On top of that it acts as a handy grip, so you can take photos one-handed.

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The Hi-Fi Plus is totally different. Made in conjunction with Bang & Olufsen this is a proper DAC for your phone. It has a dedicated 3.5mm headphone jack that outputs crystal-clear 32-bit audio.

3) It has awesome audio streaming capabilities

The LG G5 goes one better than the Galaxy S7 and comes with the upgraded version of the aptX codec called aptX HD. This lets you stream music over Bluetooth without it sounding thin and weedy. In fact you can stream at 24-bits – that’s higher than CD quality – but you’ll need a pair of aptX-compatible Bluetooth headphones to get the most out of it.

4) It has two cameras on the back and one on the front

Most phones are happy with a selfie cam and a camera on the back. Not the LG G5.

It has a perfectly decent 8-megapixel front camera and a great 16-megapixel rear camera, but next to the latter is another 8-megapixel snapper. This one’s different, though.

LG has managed to squeeze a 135-degree wide-angle lens camera into the G5. This lets you get a lot more in frame – think GoPro-like shots. It’s great for getting the whole stage and crowd in when you’re at a gig.

5. It has “Friends” with benefits

LG has announced three “friends” for the LG G5.

The first is a dead-light VR headset called the 360 VR, then there’s a 360 camera called the 360 Cam. The sweet little BB-8-alike Rolling Bot can play with your dog and switch TV channels completes the trio of unimaginatively named pals of the G5.

These seamlessly connect to the LG G5 via the LG Friends Manager app so you don’t need to tinker with a bunch of settings.

Where can I get it and how much does it cost?

The LG G5 will be available from the beginning of April. LG has been tight-lipped about the price but expect it to cost less than Galaxy S7 or upcoming iPhone 7, even though it packs top specs and some sweet innovations.